Entergy Corp.’s (ETR) proposed spin-off of its Non-utility Nuclear power business has been relegated to fiscal 2010. Recently, the New York Public Service Commission’s two administrative law judges in a ruling stated their apprehension regarding the new company having the financial viability to operate three units located in the state of New York. Of this, two units are located in the Indian Point Energy Center in Westchester County and a reactor at the James A. Fitzpatrick station in Oswego County. The New York Public Service Commission expressed its apprehension that the $3.5 billion worth of long-term unsecured bonds that Entergy plans to issue for the spin-off will drag down the bond rating of the new company, affecting its financial capacity. The Commission has also relegated its next hearing to December 2009 followed by a final decision on the spin-off in January 2010. Entergy has been ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – July 30, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: ev3 Inc. (EVVV), Merck (MRK), Boston Scientific (BSX), Medtronic (MDT) and C.R. Bard (BCR).

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Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst Blog:

ev3 Reports Strong Quarter

ev3 Inc. (EVVV) reported strong results for the second quarter of fiscal 2009 and raised net sales and adjusted EPS guidance for the full year. Quarterly EPS was $0.23, compared with a loss of $0.26 per share, a year ago. Adjusted EPS was $0.14,

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ev3 Inc. (EVVV) reported strong results for the second quarter of fiscal 2009 and raised net sales and adjusted EPS guidance for the full year. Quarterly EPS was $0.23, compared with a loss of $0.26 per share, a year ago. Adjusted EPS was $0.14, versus a loss of $0.05 a share, in the year-ago quarter.

Net sales

Quarterly net sales increased roughly 1% year over year to $109.1 million. Net sales in the year-ago quarter included $6.2 million of research collaboration revenues from the company’s agreement with Merck (MRK). The deal was terminated on July 22, 2008. Excluding this impact, net sales increased roughly 7% year over year. An unfavorable foreign currency translation hurt net revenues in the quarter. Before that, net revenues rose roughly 12% year over year.

In terms of business segments: Peripheral vascular sales increased 2% year over year to $72.0 million. Sales in

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Entergy Corp. (ETR) recently got a breather as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved a pending half-yearly extension on its spin-off effort. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has given Entergy an additional six months to get the pending regulatory approvals in New York and Vermont and procure the required financing to spin off five nuclear plants. Earlier in May, Entergy had requested a six-month extension to tide over the hurdles.

Entergy wants to spin off the nuclear plants as a new company – Enexus Energy Corp. The nuclear plants are Pilgrim in Plymouth, Massachusetts; Vermont Yankee in Vernon, Vermont; Indian Point in Westchester County, New York; Fitzpatrick in Oswego County, New York and the Palisades plant in Covert, Michigan.

Entergy plans to finish the spin-off of its non-utility nuclear power business by end of 2009. The spin-off will leave the company with five regulated utilities and other assets in the

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ev3 Inc. (EVVV) recently announced that it has completed the acquisition of Chestnut Medical Technologies, Inc. The deal was valued at $26 million in net cash and approximately 5.073 million shares of ev3, for a total of approximately $75 million.An additional payment of up to $75 million is payable in cash and ev3 shares on receiving the U.S. FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approval of the Chestnut's Pipeline technology. The transaction is expected to be dilutive to ev3's GAAP EPS in 2009 and 2010, neutral in 2011, and accretive thereafter.The Chestnut acquisition broadens EVVV's neurovascular product portfolio by adding the Pipeline device to EVVV's existing embolic product and access technologies.Chestnut is a privately held, California-based company that focuses on developing minimally invasive therapies for interventional neuroradiology. Chestnut's Pipeline technology is a new class of cerebral embolization device that ...

Here's an excerpt from my second Red-Hot Commodity ETFs issue for today ...

Central Banks around the world have apparently decided it’s “free money day.” I’m thinking of driving by the Federal Reserve, just to see if they throw a billion dollars at me when I make a sad face. Hey, the First Bank of Sean could really use that kind of cash infusion. Anyway, needless to say, this is supportive for gold.And you want to know what is REALLY supportive for gold? British regulators just banned short-selling of financial stocks. Why don’t they write “PANIC!” on their foreheads with magic markers and run around screaming on the trading floor? It would have the same effect.If paper gold keeps going higher -- and it certainly could -- we may suddenly see gold eagles available on the market again. The disconnect between paper and physical gold

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